


Sly 6: Thieves' Requiem

by EikaPrime



Series: Cooper Sequels [2]
Category: Sly Cooper (Video Games)
Genre: Written like the games, Yes it's here at last, You have no idea what you're in for, You may figure it out in April, or sometime around then
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29547876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EikaPrime/pseuds/EikaPrime
Summary: Sequel to Sly 5: Thieves and RobbersThey may have stopped the previous villain, but he didn't work alone. In order to find his partner and stop any more attacks on the Cooper family, the gang has only one lead: robots. And following that lead will lead them to events, and people, they never expected.
Relationships: Sly Cooper/Carmelita Fox
Series: Cooper Sequels [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2170827
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	1. Robotic Infiltration

**2:48 AM**

**A small island off the coast of Finland**

It's a clear night; a few wisps of cloud float in front of the full moon. The electric fence around the island is up and running; three rows of spotlights drift back and forth along it, their brilliant lights crisscrossing as they check the areas both inside and outside the walls.

One clicks out.

An alarm blares. With a rattling creak, the fence opens. A guard slips out, a grumpy owl, who pauses to scratch at the feathers on his shoulder. He doesn't notice the shadowy blue figure slip through the gate behind him.

The figure climbs a rock outcropping just within the fence and ducks into a crawlspace in the rock. He emerges on the other side of the outcropping, into a shock of moonlight.

**SLY COOPER**

**The Thief**

Sly Cooper is a gray-furred raccoon with dark circles on his tail. A tied-on criminal domino mask hides his normal raccoon mask; he wears a blue hat and shirt, blue gloves with bright yellow cuffs and a belt with a raccoon head on it. On his leg is a red pouch full of gadgets; he pulls out his binoc-u-com and looks through it.

Through the view of the binoc-u-com, Sly can survey the area. His own picture is in the lower left; in the lower right is a wheelchair-bound turtle wearing a sturdy helmet and glasses thick enough to start fires. “I'm through the first barrier, Bentley,” Sly says to the turtle. “How are things on your end?”

“Besides an abundance of nerves, I believe this is going well,” says Bentley. “I'm 97.3 percent sure they've underestimated us.”

Sly raises an eyebrow. "Which 'they' are we talking about?"

"The criminals we're dealing with," Bentley says. "Don't worry. If my calculations are correct, our 'friends' are in no position to try and assist us here."

"Good," Sly murmurs. "The last thing we want is them complicating things here. I'm going to start my approach. Is everyone in position?"

With a burst of static and squiggly lines, Bentley's camera changes. Now it shows a pink hippo wearing a wrestler's mask. “I'm at the back door, like Bentley said.”

Another burst of static, more squiggles, and the camera shows a blue-haired fox, her Interpol badge prominently displayed. “I'll handle the frontal assault. You just get in there and cause all the right trouble.”

Sly smirks. “Oh, believe me, I will. Just one more wall, and I'll be inside. There must be _some_ way past it.”

Bentley groans. “Just stick to the plan, Sly.”

Sly puts away his binoc-u-com without promising Bentley he'll stick to the plan which, really, is about the best we can expect from Sly. With that, he pauses to look around.

It's late at night, but clear enough; the ground around Sly is shadows moving through darker shadows. Sly stands on bare dirt between the electric fence and a tall wall. Statues stand every few feet, each showing an owl. Most of them are natural poses: flying, diving, sitting in a nest, feeding chicks. As Sly moves around, though, a disturbing number feature the owl with prey. Mice. Iguanas. Turtles. Foxes. Raccoons. Even young versions of some animals, like bears and hippos and walruses.

It gives Sly the willies as he moves along. No guards patrol here; they seem to rely on the high walls to keep people out. And the walls are high: too high to scale. Unfortunately, the small drainage pipe in the far right corner is more than enough for Sly to squeeze through by pressing the circle button, as a little pop-up of information informs him.

Well, unfortunate for them, anyway. It's just what Sly needs. Another wall stands before him now, but this one is covered in statues itself, rather than the grounds. An open window lies far overhead. Hidden between statues, a single vine snakes up the side of the wall. A helpful tip tells him to jump and press the circle button, so he does, latching onto the vine and making his slow way up (and sometimes sideways), stopping at the window to scan the room (empty) before continuing.

“I'm in,” Sly says, looking around at a corridor covered in lasers and spotlights before turning to look back out the window. The owl guard who left when Sly entered returns, scratching his feathers again.

“Great. Murray, are you—”

“Totally! This is the part right?”

“Right, and you need to be _extremely_ \--”

“THUNDER-FLOP!”

The security in the hallway goes dead as Bentley's long-suffering sigh comes through the binoc-u-com. “You need to get to the basement, Sly. Head right for the stairs.”

Sly snickers as he obeys, moving right and to the stairway (the Bannister glows blue, but no prompt comes up explaining). “How's it coming on the rooftops, Bentley?” he asks as he reaches the ground floor.

“Easier than I expected. The basement's unconnected from the sewers Murray's handling; you need to make your way there. His... _efforts_ should have most of the security turned off.”

“Guard presence?”

“Don't you worry about those, ringtail,” Carmelita says.

Sly has a chuckle in his voice as he replies, “If you say not to, then I won't.”

The hall Sly walks down splits several times, but most of the splits are blocked: laser security, too tight for Sly to get down. A heavy portcullis that Murray could probably pry open. Down many of the blocked halls are small orbs that emit hazy fog in purple or green, daring Sly to come closer. He doesn't. Because they're all blocked off. And besides, Bentley's in his ears, being nervous about him taking too long.

Down another flight of stairs, to the basement. Some corridors are flooded, but the way forward has slowly moving spotlights. “They must've had some back-up power,” Bentley mutters. “Don't get spotted, pal.”

“Come on, this is _me,_ ” Sly says.

“Yeah, that's why I worry.”

Sly rolls his eyes but doesn't argue as he makes his way down the corridor, pausing when necessary and timing himself to go around the spotlights. Sometimes convenient pipes allow him to climb to the ceiling and go over otherwise impassable spotlights, but mostly it's timing, finding the path that isn't underwater or blocked by security gates, until Sly reaches a large red door with a shiny combination lock on the front.

“Been a while since you've had to deal with one of these, buddy,” Bentley murmurs in Sly's ears as Sly presses the circle button and kneels closer to it. “Circle the joystick slowly in one direction until you feel the rumble of the pins falling into place; then circle it in the other direction for the next pin; and finally back in the first direction to get the last pin in place and open it. Be careful you don't go too far on any spin and knock them all out of alignment.”

It's good advice, or it would be if Sly were an amateur. He has the lock open in moments, and pushes open the door. A massive room filled with machinery greets him. It's still now, but partially finished robots, the most finished ones with obvious weapons, hang on the conveyor belts. Sly smiles. "Hey, Carm?"

"Yeah, Sly?"

"I've found it. Make the bust."

In seconds, sirens fill the air. "Take some pictures, ringtail," Carmelita urges.

"Press down on the right analog stick to bring up your binoc-u-com," Bentley says in his ear, "then the R1 button to take a shot. I'll have them sent to me _and_ Interpol."

Sly snaps pictures--of the conveyor belts, of the robots, of the machines—and Bentley sighs. "Another dead end. Without even analyzing them, I can tell these aren't the same make as the robots that haunted us last year."

Sly twirls his cane. "Hey, at least we know where it's not."

Bentley glares at him until Sly fidgets. "Sorry."

"Better put on your uniform before you go upstairs."


	2. Introduction

**(Sly Voice-Over)**

All right, this looks really strange, so let me just confirm something: I'm a thief. _(Sly jogs down a hall, pulling a cop's uniform on over his clothes)_. But at the moment, well... ( _Sly emerges outside into chaos: flashing police lights, sirens, cop cars everywhere, and in the middle of it, a fox with a police badge hanging around her throat cuffing a disgruntled owl.)_ I'm also a cop. And they think all the evidence I get them, all the break-ins I do, are legal and done under warrants. _(The fox gets to her feet and gives Sly a cheery wave_ ) How'd this happen? Well... _(flashback lights!)_

It all started when I was just a kid, bouncing on my father's knee. See, I come from a long line of master thieves. _(As he describes them, different thieves briefly appear in shadows)._ Whether they were pirating from pirate ships, liberating 'goods' from Germany, or schooling corrupt pharaohs, my family's always specialized in stealing from thieves. There's no honor, no challenge, no fun in stealing from regular people. But stealing from thieves can make you some pretty powerful enemies. ( _Over all the images of Coopers stealing throughout history looms the shadowy form of an owl.)_

When I was a kid, an owl named Clockwerk and his gang caught up with my parents, and I wound up in the town orphanage. _(image of young Sly, clutching a cane taller than he is, staring up at an imposing building/the orphanage.)_ Sometimes, though, the family you make works out just as well. _(image of Sly, Bentley, and Murray as children, on a lawn by a crashed wagon, eating cookies while the Cooky-Stealing Plan lies crumpled in the dirt nearby._ ) My family was Bentley, _(pictures of Bentley growing up through the years scroll by)_ a genius who may be an even better friend. And Murray... the only thing stronger than his fists is his heart _(pictures of Murray float by as well)._ Over time, I even managed to befriend Inspector Carmelita Fox. _(pictures of Carmelita chasing him through various cities, shock pistol blaring, float by... followed by them dancing at a formal party, both in police uniform._ ) It took a while.

Together, we took care of the gang that murdered my parents. We destroyed Clockwerk, an evil... no, there's no way to describe him but a monster. _(Images of Clockwerk float by._ ) Anyone who replaces their body with machinery solely to wipe out another family deserves no other name. But he's dead now, pieces destroyed. _(We see them disintegrating circa Sly 2)._ Interpol thinks Sly Cooper, international thief, is dead or disappeared. And me? I'm 'Sylvester' Sly Cooper, former Interpol Informant, current Interpol Officer, partner and boyfriend of one Inspector Fox. _(Images of them on a date and chasing criminals float by.)_ It's the life, I'm telling you. Even if we did need a literal time machine to sort out all the details.

Yes, a time machine. Bentley invented it. _(images of Bentley scribbling on blueprints, working with chemicals, and so forth float by.)_ Told you he was a genius. Only, due to problems like brainwashing and corrupt cops, other people got their hands on it... and decided to make even more problems for my family. Ever notice how some people enforce the rules for everyone but themselves? My ancestors aren't even safe from those people through hundreds of **years** of distance. _(pictures of various encounters from the past games float by._ ) Finding him and taking him out took tons of work. Destroying his criminal-destroying 'police' robots involved blowing up time machines on them. _(images of the final fight from Sly 5 float by)._ And looking at his files, he had help.

But from who? And, more importantly,  **when** ?  _ (All four characters are seen looking through databases, museums, and history books, alone and together _ .) With time travel involved, it could be anyone, at any time. And just because they're quiet now, doesn't mean we can leave it alone. But without any information, we've been reduced to taking any job that has a sniff of robots around them.  _ (The flashback fades back to the present, where several animals, mostly owls, are being put in the back of police cars. Robot weapons are being put in a vehicle labeled 'EVIDENCE'.)  _ It hasn't been very productive.

Sooner or later, they'll start something again.  _ (Sly can be seen perched on top of the Eiffel tower, a shadow in front of the moon. _ ) And this time,  _ (he leaps off, straight towards the camera _ ) we'll be ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As it stands now, I have the entire first area complete, and I'm working on the final touches for area 2. I plan/hope to update weekly, like last time, but that may change. I wind up backtracking and altering the first few missions of an area (particularly if there's recon) so often that I can't start posting an area until it's completed, and I'm busy as all shell and writing slow because of it (not to mention other writing projects). For these reasons, it may switch to every other week at some point; I'll let you know.
> 
> With all that said, though, I've got a plan. Get yourself some lemonade and buckle your seat belts, because you're in for quite a ride.
> 
> And a little self-promotion: other than write a crudload of fanfics and amuse myself, I've taken up streaming. This coming Friday, in celebration of my recent birthday, I'll be playing through as much of Sly 2 as I can manage at once on stream. I'll start around 11 AM EST, at www . Twitch . tv/eikaprime if anyone wants to hang out and enjoy.


	3. Hazard Room with Sly

**HAZARD ROOM With Sly!**

Sly walks into a large open space, white padded walls and white padded floors and a ceiling that may or may not be in the shadows above. Several switches, blue and green and pink and orange, line one wall. “Is this really necessary, Bentley?” Sly asks.

An intercom system crackles to life. “Absolutely,” Bentley says. “You've been getting into a lot more confrontations as a police officer of late; you need to make sure your cane skills are sharp, since you can't use that on the job.”

“And the rest of it?” Sly indicates the green, pink, and orange switches. “You three use your tools regularly.”

“It never hurts to be prepared, Sly,” Bentley says primly. “Now choose a switch and let's get started.”

Sly rolls his eyes, stalks over to one of the blue switches, and pulls it. Two piles of boxes fall from the ceiling. “Looks like we're starting with navigation,” says Bentley.

“Aren't I better at this than you?” Sly crosses his arms.

“Only if I don't have a map. Now pay attention. Your mask doesn't just protect your identity; it can also interface with my computer technology to show you holographic markers. You can see them by bringing out your binoc-u-com; just click the right analog stick to do that.”

Sly pulls out his binoc-u-com, seeing a blue waypoint in the center of the area. In the lower right corner is Sly's feed: bored, irritable, rapidly changing to amused when he sees Bentley in the lower left. “Is that a chicken hat?”

“Just needed to make sure you were paying attention.” Bentley pulls the chicken hat off, revealing his normal helmet underneath. “Now put the binoc-u-com away.”

“Spoilsport,” Sly says, but does as he was asked.

“Now, you can also ping a waypoint without taking out your binoc-u-com by pressing down on the left analog stick. Give it a try.”

Sly does.

“Great. I'm going to project a few more waypoints; see if you can reach them.”

Boy, Sly sure can. He can walk to the center of the room. He can walk to the  _ corner _ of the room. And he can climb a pile of boxes. Good job, Sly. “Seriously, Bentley, I've been doing this for  _ years _ .”

“Well, we're doing it again. Now, you can use the right analog stick--”

“To move the camera up and down,” Sly leans on his cane and sighs. “I suppose you want me to stand up here and use the right analog stick to look up and down, side to side, and find some of those markers without leaving this spot?”

“You are correct. And remember: the view is  _ usually _ better from the rooftops.”

Sly pauses halfway through focusing on the third waypoint. “I thought it was always better from the rooftops?”

“I had to recalculate that saying after the banana incident.”

“Right.” Sly focuses on a fourth waypoint. “Is that all of them?”

“Yep. Just gotta give you one more test. Jump on down.”

Sly jumps down, Bentley pulls the boxes into the sky, and drops down-- “Is that a maze?”

“Yep. Of course, you'll have no problem navigating it, will you?” Bentley teases. “After all, this is all so  _ easy  _ for you.”

Well played, Bentley. Well played. But, whether by accident or on purpose, you left something at the maze's entrance for Sly to  _ climb _ .

Probably on purpose, since the waypoint Sly has to get to is at a completely random spot near the center instead of at the exit.

“Well done,” Bentley says, and pulls up the boxes. “Try another switch now.”

Sly pulls another blue one, and two large wooden platforms drop from the ceiling: one near the ground, the other several feet higher and across the room. Sly leaps to the lower one as Bentley's custom force field shimmers into life below them. “Now, Sly, you're the member of the team with the most variety in maneuverability, but that also means you have the most to practice,” says Bentley.

Sly stretches his arms overhead. “And the most places to go. The view of the sunrise from on top of the Eiffel Tower is  _ amazing _ ; you should see it sometime.”

“I have.”

“Live. In person. I could carry you!”

“No,” Bentley says, managing to convey years of 'I've already said this' in one syllable. “But just for that, I'm going to make you review  _ everything _ .”

“Like you wouldn't anyway.” Sly swings his cane over his shoulder. “Okay, Bentley, what's first?”

“I assume you remember how to jump?” Bentley drops an oversized set of stairs between the two platforms.

“You're joking.”

“I'm not. Press the X button to jump. You can do it while standing still, moving, or running. You can even press X again in the air for an extra-high double jump.”

Not even Sly can make climbing an oversized staircase look epic, but he tries. When he reaches the top (and the other side), Bentley lifts out the staircase and drops in a large wall with a small hole in it. “You can also fit through small places. Get close, then press the circle button to crawl. You'll stay crawling until you get out.”

“You know, this is the best place to go crawling,” Sly comments as he makes his way through. The path is slanted downhill; Sly has to brace himself a bit to keep from sliding. “Your obstacle courses are always clean. No dust, no spiders, no water... this is a breeze.”

“Of course. I refuse to make more laundry.” Sly emerges, and Bentley brings the tunnel out, drops down a wall with a pipe on it. “You can also climb ladders, ropes, or pipes. All you have to do is get close, then jump and hit the circle button.”

“I feel like I've heard that before,” Sly muses as he makes his way up. He does a flip when he reaches the top, just because he can, and Bentley lifts out that obstacle. “And the next challenge is...?”

“I'm sure you remember your ancestor Rioichi Cooper's ninja spire jump and landing,” Bentley says, dropping in several light bulbs on a wire. They glow softly and, in Sly's eyes, are surrounded by the telltale blue sparkles that mean he can use a Master Thief Move. “Just jump and hit the circle button to land on narrow points.”

“Man, Rioichi Cooper was  _ amazing _ to meet,” Sly says as he makes his way from platform to platform again. “I think he even managed to intimidate Carmelita, when I took her there for supper that one time! How does one manage to be a master ninja  _ and _ run a popular restaurant? It just boggles the mind.”

“Uh-huh,” Bentley says, raising out the spire jump points. Not too far, though; just overhead. “How about swinging with your cane? I don't think that's attributed to any of your ancestors. Jump and hit the circle button to latch on; swing back and forth to get momentum for your next jump.”

Sly jumps, grabs one light bulb/hook, and swings. “I bet it predates the Thievious. We've been stealing since the ice ages; probably one of Bob's kids invented it.”

Bentley's sigh manages to ruffle Sly's fur through the maskpiece. Sly laughs and keeps swinging, making his way back down to the bottom platform.

Bentley grumbles indistinguishably as he raises the light bulbs out of reach. “Okay, how about a challenge, then: the rail walk.” He drops down some metal rails, similar to those seen on railroads. “Jump and hit the circle button to land, then walk along the rails.”

None of the rails go all the way to the top platform, so Sly has to jump between them. “Tennessee created this one,” Sly says. “Man, I could never keep up with him on these things.”

“Uh-huh,” Bentley says, raising them again and dropping more, slippery rails. “He also coined the rail slide, right? Once you're on these, you'll move like you're on a freshly waxed banister. Only, with the rail slide, you should  _ try _ not to overshoot and go straight out the window.”

“That was  _ one time, _ Bentley,” Sly says.

“One time too many. To get on, just—“

“Jump and hit the circle button,” Sly says, suiting the action to the words. He slips his way down without another word. “Got an actual challenge for me yet, Bentley?”

Bentley drops down a sheer wall. “You'll need to slide along the edge to get to this task. Press and hold the circle button to slip around narrow edges.”

“A move perfected by—” 

“I know! I know!”

“Slaigh MacCooper!” Sly finishes as he gets to proper ground. He looks up. “Oh, wall hooks.”

“I take it you have fond memories of those?”

“Of course,” Sly says. “I love all  _ sorts _ of hooks. But the wall hook is by far the best.”

Bentley adjusts his glasses. “Right. Anyway, jump and hit the circle button to latch on. Then, you can press the triangle button to release, or lean back for momentum and press the X button for a power jump.”

Sly gets halfway up the wall before he feels the need to talk again. “Man, Galleth was  _ ace _ at these,” he says. “He specialized in, what was it, catapult crash? He could jump off these so hard he could go through floors!”

“You're  _ not _ trying it,” Bentley informs him.

“Only because I don't wear armor,” Sly retorts. “Too noisy. It's not right for my aesthetic.”

“One more to go,” Bentley says, raising the wall. All that's left is empty air between the two platforms. “Now, on the ground, pressing the R1 button makes you run. In the air, however, pressing the R1 button lets you use your paraglider.” Bentley drops a few hula-hoops on strings from the ceiling. “I've created a small course for you.”

“Easy.” Sly completes it faster than Bentley can do math.

“All right, I trust you can get around any of our future challenges.” Bentley disengages the force-field, and Sly jumps down; the various platforms retract into the ceiling.

There's still one switch. Sly pulls it, and a scarecrow drops in the center of the room. “Now, on to guards. There are two main types of guards: the super tough flashlight guards, and the regular guards.”

“I tend to avoid the flashlight guards,” Sly says, leaning on his cane. “They're a bit tough for me to take out. It's a good thing they can't follow me on rooftops; otherwise, I'd be toast. If I ever got spotted, that is.”

“Yes, well, that has happened before, but right now I'm interested in going over your sneak attack.” Bentley heaves a sigh. “If a guard hasn't seen you, you can knock them out by sneaking up behind them and pressing the triangle button, then the square button while they're in the air. Got it? But it  _ only works  _ if they haven't seen you.”

“I know I know!” Sly shakes his head. “Relax, Bentley; you act like I've never done this before.”

“Given how well you pay attention, I wonder sometimes.”

Sly chuckles softly as he sneaks up behind the scarecrow and knocks it out. “All right, that's dealt with. What next?”

Bentley drops down another scarecrow, this one with a bulging back pocket. “You can also pick-pocket if the guard hasn't seen you yet. Sneak up behind them and press the circle button; that'll get you some cash. If you keep digging, you may even grab something worth a ton of coins!”

“Sounds like something I can get behind,” Sly says, sneaks up behind the scarecrow, and digs in. Three picks and ten coins later, he gets... a carnival prize worth 20 coins. “Seriously?”

“Did you think I was going to use something valuable for training? One last test for you.” Bentley drops down a scarecrow with a bulging pocket, but this one's hooked to ropes; it moves. “Pick-pocket and knock out that guy, would ya? Doing it while moving is--”

“Still pretty easy. Come on, Bentley, I'm a  _ master thief.” _

“Who daylights as a cop,” Bentley supplies.

Sly sighs so hard he almost alerts the scarecrow as he pick-pockets. He retrieves a plastic harmonica, knocks the guard out, and says, “There is that. But hey, ignoring the paperwork—and believe me, I  _ excel _ at ignoring it—it's almost as much fun as being a thief. The rules just add another layer of challenge.

“Fine.” Bentley pulls the remains of the scarecrows and platforms and everything else into the ceiling. “You're all done in here. But, Sly—how long can you manage this? Thief and cop are  _ not _ careers that go well together.”

“They are now, buddy,” Sly says, grinning. “I can make anything work.”

**JOB COMPLETE**

_Sly jams his hands in his pockets and saunters out of the room, whistling._


	4. Hazard Room with the Gang

**HAZARD ROOM With Others!**

**Murray**

Murray almost skips his way into the hazard room. “Oh man, it's been  _ ages _ since I was in here,” Murray says, looking around. “Do you think anything'll catch fire this time?”

“Don't worry, I redid all the wiring,” Bentley says over the intercom. “I hope you're ready for some practice.”

“You bet! No one practinates like... The Murray.”

Bentley groans over the intercom as Murray skips over to the wall and pulls the pink lever. A number of wooden platforms fall from the ceiling; Murray leaps on one, and a force field starts up, keeping him from the floor. “This shouldn't take too long, Murray. You've been keeping in shape with your martial arts classes.”

“Totally! Dimitri even came last week; he said Tai Chi really improved his dance moves.”

Bentley is notably silent for a moment. A moment longer. One more. “Right. Anyway, Murray, your physical prowess is the best in the gang.” He drops a tall, thin wooden wall from the ceiling; cracks spiderweb through it. “You should be able to punch your way through that.”

Boy, can he. The wall dents in on itself in one punch, and is gone in three. Murray jumps his way to the next platform, which features an assortment of barrels; the third platform is too far to jump to. “Okay, Bentley, what next?”

“You can press the circle button to stomp and pick things up,” Bentley says. He sets down a three-support pillar in throwing distance, but not so close Murray can punch it. “Once you have a barrel, or a guard, you can press the square button to throw it, or the circle button again to set it down gently. Try taking out that pillar over there.”

“Pillar, you should fear the might of... The Murray.” Murray gets to work, picking up barrels and throwing them. It takes significantly more barrels than Bentley thought it would, namely because Murray decides to amuse himself by carefully balancing the barrels on the force field a few feet below the platform, stepping on them, and trying to create a path around. Admiring of the work-around as Bentley is, he makes Murray go back and actually break the pillar and drop the  _ proper _ platform to proceed.

“All right, Murray. Now, on to guards.” Bentley drops a scarecrow from the ceiling onto the fourth platform. “If a guard hasn't seen you, you can press the triangle button to knock them into the air, then the circle button to catch them. Then you can shake all the coins out of them by tapping circle. You can even get better stuff that way!”

“That's always awesome,” Murray says, running over to the scarecrow. He punches it into the air and catches it. As he shakes the money out, he adds, “I like it when they drop candy.”

Bentley chuckles. “I prefer cell phones, myself, but I am aware of your preferences.”

With a final massive shake, Murray wrenches his prize free from the scarecrow's jacket: a jawbreaker the size of his head. “SWEET!”

“That's all for now, Murray. You go enjoy it.”

**JOB COMPLETE**

_Murray leaps off the platform and races from the room._

**vvvvvv**

**Carmelita**

Carmelita strolls into the hazard room, her ears perked, shock pistol held loose in one hand. “You think I don't get enough practice in the field, Bentley?” she asks, tossing a grin towards the ceiling. “This  _ is _ my job, after all.”

“You tend not to bust the highest targets unless we're involved somehow,” Bentley replies, irritation lacing his voice. “On one side of the law or the other. Look, would you just pull the lever?”

Carmelita chuckles. “How aggravating was Sly?” she asks, crossing the room. “On a ten scale?”

“I have to give him an eleven, or else he'll be even  _ more _ annoying next time.”

That makes Carmelita laugh outright. She pulls down on the orange lever.

A massive pile of boxes drop from the ceiling. Carmelita pulls out her binoc-u-com and looks at it. Bentley adjusts his tie and leans forward. “Okay Carmelita, your jumping skills are the best on the team. With your super jump, you should be able to leap to the top of that pile.”

“Easy, I just tap the circle button to do a super-high super jump,” Carmelita says. There are a few platforms on the way up,  _ just _ in jumping distance; she lands on the first one. “It'd be easier if I could super jump again in midair, rather than just my regular double-jump, but this will do.”

Jump by jump, Carmelita makes her way up the skyscraper-like tower of boxes until she reaches the top. She twirls her gun in one hand and adopts a ready stance. “Let me guess: now you're going to test my aiming skills.”

“You got that right.” Bentley lowers several targets on ropes from the ceiling. “You can always fire your gun by tapping the triangle button, but if you press and hold it you can also bring up the aiming sight, rather than rely on auto-aim. Of course, you can always use your binoc-u-com to aim as well. Use it to hit these far away targets.”

Bentley puts Carmelita through her paces. The auto-aim hones in on the nearby targets automatically, and she uses the press-and-hold method for targets that would be more than one rooftop away in the field. The binoc-u-com really isn't that useful, though being able to fire with the binoc-u-com open will no doubt come in handy at some point down the line.

“All right, fine. You've proven your ability to hit a stationary target.” Bentley drops down a number of balloons. They bob in place... and then start moving erratically as Bentley turns on some sort of wind system. “How about these, though?”

“Shouldn't be a problem, if I just aim,” Carmelita says. Which she does, because of course she does. It's  _ Carmelita _ .

“Right. That's all I have for you.”

Carmelita makes her way down and pauses at the door. “You're going to put yourself through this, too, right?”

“But of course. I don't know why you'd even ask.”

**JOB COMPLETE**

_Carmelita shakes her head, spins her shock pistol on one finger, and leaves._

**vvvvvvvvv**

**Bentley**

Bentley wheels himself into the room, then pauses and glares straight at the observation box. “I  _ was _ going to come down here, you know,” he says to the ceiling.

“Suuuuuure you were,” chorus Sly and Carmelita.

Bentley grumbles under his breath, but crosses the room and pulls down the green lever.

A number of box piles, spread a fair distance apart, fall from the ceiling. “Okay Bentley, you may be in that chair, but you're one of the most maneuverable members of the team,” says Sly. “You can use the jet boosters you installed to jump onto the first box by pressing the X button. You can also hold the X button to hover—even on a double jump! So you need to jump from box to box without touching the ground.”

“This is demeaning,” Bentley grumbles as he jumps up on the first box pile and starts jumping from pile to pile; they're at different heights and different distances, so he has to use all his tricks. “I've been doing this for  _ years _ , it's simple, and you know how often I maintain my chair.”

“Oh?” asks Carmelita. “You mean like making me practice my aim? Imagine.”

Bentley lets out a chuff of irritation and makes the last jump. “You've made your point. Can I be done with this now?”

“No,” they chorus.

Bentley heaves a sigh and leaps to the floor. “Fine. Now what?”

“Your bombs,” Sly says, glee all over his voice. “You can tap the triangle button to throw a bomb, or press and hold triangle to place a bomb somewhere.” A bulls-eye drops on the floor, and another lowers from the ceiling and stands near the wall. “Blow up those targets.”

“I can't believe you're making me do this,” Bentley grumbles as he wheels forward. He tosses a bomb onto the floor target as he passes, nailing it dead center, and sticks the other on the target before the first has had a chance to explode. He waits the two, three, five seconds for it to go off at a safe distance, then demands, “Am I done now?”

“What, already?” Bentley pulls up the binoc-u-com to see Sly shake his head, grinning. “You haven't even done anything with your sleep darts!”

Bentley groans, removes his glasses, and drags one gloved hand down his face. “If I apologize, will it make any difference?”

“Nope, you've still gotta do it. Now, your sleep darts can put any guard to sleep in seconds—whether they've seen you or not. Press the right analog stick to bring up your binoc-u-com, then R1 to shoot. Would you do the honors, Carm?”

“My pleasure.” A number of targets drop down. “Have at it, shell boy. You may as well practice; this works perfectly on guards that notice you, but your bombs don't do as much if they know you're there and bracing themselves for it.”

“I'm aware of that, Carmelita.”

Bentley opens his binoc-u-com and nails shot after shot. Stationary and moving targets. All of the targets. “Am I done now?”

“I dunno, Sly. He's completed all the tasks.”

“Yeah, but we've got him trapped in there. Hey, Bentley! Feel like--”

“You realize I programmed everything in here, right?” Bentley glares at the ceiling, glasses narrowing. “I am  _ perfectly capable _ of hacking into it and turning this around on you.”

“As I was saying, you did a great job, buddy.”

**JOB COMPLETE**

_Bentley hmmphs and wheels himself to the door, opens it, and exits._

**Author's Note:**

> NOTES:
> 
> Hello, everybody. Welcome to Sly 6. It's been quite a year, hasn't it? I have a lot of other stuff to say, but I don't want to clog up the very first chapter with notes...
> 
> So they'll be on the second chapter, this Tuesday.


End file.
